Ecochallenge.org

2019 People's Ecochallenge

October 2 - October 23, 2019

Touk Keo

Office of Community & Civic Life

"Waste less, rest more."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
525 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted
UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

76

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

energy audit

conducted
UP TO

2.0

community events

hosted or attended
UP TO

9.0

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

6.0

organic meals

consumed
UP TO

1.5

pounds

food waste prevented
UP TO

90

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

39

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

24

conversations

with people

Touk's actions

Community

Host a House Party

I will host a house party with 5 friends and/or colleagues to watch a movie or present a guest speaker on an environmental issue that matters to me.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Car Share

I will sign up for a car-sharing service, or organize car sharing with my neighbors, to cut down on the number of vehicles on the road.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Support Native Communities

I will use the resource links provided and spend 60 minutes learning about the native populations that lived in my area prior to colonization, and what I can do to support those that still exist.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Organize a Course

I will organize one of Ecochallenge.org's discussion courses on food sustainability - 'Menu for the Future' or 'Hungry for Change', with my family, friends, coworkers, or classmates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Choose Organic Ingredients

I will enjoy 3 meal(s) cooked with organic ingredients each day.

COMPLETED -1
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Personal Waste Audit

I will collect all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Carry my Trash

I will carry all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash with me to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Improve a Bus Stop

I will improve a bus stop in my neighborhood by posting the stop schedule, adding seating or shelter, adding art or flowers, picking up litter, or some other small improvement.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Drive Less

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Work from Home

I will work from home 1 day(s) to avoid my commute's carbon output.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

High Impact Action Track

Zero-Waste Cooking

Food

I will cook 3 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Join a Local CSA

I will sign up for a local CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Learn More and Talk to My Friends

Access to public transportation is a social justice issue! I will learn about the need for public transportation in my community and tell 2 friends each day about the issue.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Online Energy Audit

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Organize a Course

How can you use NWEI programs to help mobilize your community to take action toward a sustainable future?

Touk Keo 10/16/2019 1:16 PM

Not sure although I've continued my partnership with City Repair to create a space to learn about food sovereignty, food justice, and food desserts.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Support Native Communities

Indigenous speaker and activist Winona LaDuke says that, "most indigenous ceremonies, if you look to their essence, are about the restoration of balance — they are a reaffirmation of our relationship to creation. That is our intent: to restore, and then to retain balance and honor our part in creation." Why is balance important to sustainability?

Touk Keo 10/16/2019 1:14 PM

What's more important is to support Indigenous Sovereignty for the damage we've done as Settlers.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Host a House Party

How does environmental quality influence your sense of community?

Touk Keo 10/16/2019 10:29 AM

As a BIPOC person, I acknowledged that within our systems, we are often the most neglected. Colonialism impacts us and access to nature, resourcefulness, and demeans are abilities to work with nature.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Learn More and Talk to My Friends

How has your access to various kinds of transportation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?

Touk Keo 10/14/2019 2:04 PM

It hasn't always been accessible, when I was undergrad, I was ticketed $375 for paying the fare of a youth because there was a discounted price and at the Portland State did not make resources accessible to me. If I'm able I try to offer folks who are struggling with the fare, money so they're not impacted financially by tri-met's fare police.

Read More
Touk Keo 10/14/2019 12:05 PM

The challenge is harder for me on the weekends, I've asked a few restaurants that I frequent if I can bring my own glass container instead of using plastic, they've secretly obliged to do so.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Personal Waste Audit

Why is it so difficult to understand the impacts our purchases and waste have on other people, animals, and places? How might your experience with this challenge impact your future consumption and choices?

Touk Keo 10/08/2019 11:08 AM

We're a society the expects everyone to work 40+hours a week, which forces us to become dependent on other people and resources outside of communities and personal abilities. I think it'll make me consider access and privilege to major contributors to what consumption and choice looks like.

Read More
- Dianne Riley 10/08/2019 5:52 PM
  
  I love this idea! ...the idea of reducing work hours at a paid job to increase domestic and community productivity and thus reduce reliance on market-based "solutions," "over-consumption" and waste to get what we need. Super smart, Touk!!!!
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Choose Organic Ingredients

It is often said that “you can’t feed the world with just organic food.” What is your response to that statement?

Touk Keo 10/08/2019 11:06 AM

My response is capitalism.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Drive Less

How has your access to various kinds of transportation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?

Touk Keo 10/08/2019 11:04 AM

Well, having an extra car means I don't have to plan as well, and I can do what I want. Now that I'm using the bus, I have to be more mindful about where I'm going and when I'm going places so I can catch the bus. It's been good for me to add more organization and planning in general, so this overall supports it and is changing poor routines.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Carry my Trash

What one thing could you do right away to reduce your waste?

Touk Keo 10/08/2019 11:03 AM

Grow more of my own food, avoid buying vegetables and fruits in packaging, continue meal prepping, and buy reusable beeswax bags.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Work from Home

It takes the average worker in the United States 26 minutes to travel to work. One way to fix long commutes would be to make cities more affordable. An even simpler option: promote the use of telework. Are you in an industry that would allow you to work from home? What are some obstacles you might find yourself facing while working from home?

Touk Keo 10/08/2019 11:00 AM

Yes, I'm able to work from home which is wonderful. There aren't many obstacles unless they're self-imposed, I have certainly forgotten my computer charger which I may contact BTS to see if I can have a charger for home. Otherwise, I love working from home.

Read More